Matt Greenfield is the managing director of Rethink Education, a venture fund focused exclusively on early- and growth-stage education technology startups. Tom Segal, an analyst for Rethink Education, has written extensively about innovation and educational technology issues.

Many people are wondering whether there is a bubble in educational technology. Has too much venture capital been invested in the sector? Have valuations gotten too high? My answer is that there is a bubble in ideas that won't work and a dearth of capital for ideas that can work.

Datapalooza highlighted the strengthening bond between the federal government and new apps and websites (for profit and nonprofit alike) seeking to streamline and educate the college application process. By providing access to unique and powerful datasets through consumable APIs, the Deparment of Education is creating a framework for public-private-partnerships that can best inform the consumer known as the aspiring student.

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have issued a call for global government surveillance reform, marking quite publicly that we live in a world where technological advancement has accelerated passed our cultural capacity to regulate it. Fears of spying and data ownership have negatively affected K-12, but the advancement has also created new industries for career paths, and with them the need for new educational focus areas.

In the first of a series of guest posts from leading public officials and elected officers, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offers the lessons he has learned as a parent and participant in the K-12 education system.